The Zimbabwe 2013 Elections Thread

Mugabe Pledges Free Fair Vote

Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe on Sunday made his final call for peaceful voting as he vowed that this week's election will be free and fair.

"Vote, vote, vote in peace, peace peace, peace. We want peace," Mugabe told around 40,000 supporters at his final rally at the National Sports Stadium in the capital Harare.

Mugabe said there were no major incidents of violence during the last days of campaigning, unlike the last vote in 2008.

"It's going to be free and fair. We are not forcing anyone to vote this way or that way," he told reporters.

Zimbabweans vote for a new president and parliament on Wednesday, four years after Mugabe -- who has ruled for 33 years -- and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai were forced to share power.

The 89-year-old Mugabe warned against foreign influence in resolving the political conflict in Zimbabwe, citing the fallout after uprisings in Egypt and Libya.

"See what is happening in Egypt. They were fooled and advised to remove their leaders," he told supporters in the local Shona language.

Egyptians are "fighting each other" and the West "are observers now as if they don't know the mischief they caused," he added.

Relations between Mugabe and Western nations remain tense following international sanctions dating back to 2002.

Tsvangirai won most votes in the first round of the violence-marred vote in 2008, but pulled out of a run-off after 200 opposition members were killed.

He and his rival Mugabe formed a unity government a year later.

Mugabe spoke standing for nearly two hours despite his advanced age, after criss-crossing the country and addressing 10 rallies in three weeks.

The July 31 vote will be his seventh electoral race and he answered a categoric "yes" when asked if he would stand again for elections in 2018.

Meanwhile a popular Christian Apostolic sect also Sunday declared him lifetime president of Zimbabwe.


Source : Sapa-AFP /pk/fg
Date : 29 Jul 2013 09:25
 
Now police threaten to charge Komichi for contravening electoral laws if he refuses to reveal his source.

"As long as he refuses to disclose the identity of this person the police will hold him accountable, therefore he becomes the prime suspect," said Charamba.
Click to expand...

They may as well announce the results already...mad bob won...again...
 
Mugabe will never win elections if they are free and fair. The final MDC rally at the stadium was packed with MDC supporters, and it shows that Zimbabweans want change.
 
The MDC won the last election, but zanu pf ruled.

Does it make any sense?
 
A look at Zimbabwe's Elections

Zimbabwe's July 31 elections show the determination of Robert Mugabe to extend his 33 year rule of the southern African country and the challenge from former trade union leader Morgan Tsvangirai.

CANDIDATES:

--President Robert Mugabe, 89, former liberation leader in power since independence from Britain in 1980. He freed his country from white minority rule and took over a prosperous nation that was the envy of Africa before a catastrophic economic meltdown began in 1997, triggered at first by a corruption scandal and then the seizures of thousands of white-owned commercial farms.

--Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, 61, labor activist turned politician, the first real challenger to Mugabe who has run three times since 2002. He narrowly beat Mugabe in the last elections in 2008 but boycotted a presidential run-off vote to protest widespread violence against his Movement for Democratic Change party.

--Welshman Ncube, head of a breakaway faction of Tsvangirai's party, his small group is likely to draw votes from Tsvangirai in the western Matabeleland provinces.

--Dumiso Dabengwa, former Soviet-trained guerrilla leader nicknamed the "Black Russian," once a Mugabe ally. Dabengwa is also expected to take votes away from Tsvangirai in the Matabeleland provinces.

--A fifth contender, Kisinoti Munodei Mukwazhe, of the minor Zimbabwe Development Party, withdrew from the race.

VOTING:

--Voting for 6.4 million registered electors opens at 7 a.m. on July 31 for a straight 12 hours but may be extended to a second day.

--Voters will cast ballots for the presidency, 210 parliament seats and 1,200 rural and urban council districts across the southern African country of 12.9 million people. Zimbabwe is slightly larger than Germany or the U.S. state of Montana.

ISSUES:

--Mugabe's ailing health and his ability at 89 to maintain his authoritarian rule for another five year term after 33 years in office. Rival candidates in the nation's coalition say he frequently falls asleep in ministers' cabinet meetings.

--Military and police commanders, mostly guerrilla leaders who swept Mugabe to power in 1980, have refused to salute Tsvangirai, who is prime minister but did not participate in the war that ended white-minority rule. Tsvangirai alleges they and the security and intelligence services are the power behind Mugabe and continue to resist yielding control.

CHOICES:

--Mugabe's ZANU-PF party vows to press on with a sweeping, 13-year-long black empowerment program it says can create 2.2 million new jobs by taking over remaining foreign businesses and revitalizing often violently seized farmland, much of which still lies idle.

--The former opposition Movement for Democratic Change led by Tsvangirai says it will rely on creating a local and foreign investor-friendly environment to rebuild the troubled economy, create jobs, restore collapsed health and education services and bring a return to the rule of law after a decade of political violence and economic turmoil.

OUTLOOK:

--Despite little political violence this time around, human rights groups say free and fair elections are not possible because of widespread discrepancies in the voters roll, unfair access to the media, and partisan activities of the state army and police. Mugabe's rivals accuse him and his loyalists of working to repeat rigging and manipulation seen in past disputed polls.

Source : Sapa-AP /sdv/hdw/th
Date : 30 Jul 2013 16:21
 
Mugabe to 'Surrender' if he lost

Veteran Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said Tuesday he would step down from 33 years in power if he lost Wednesday's knife-edge election.

"If you lose you must surrender," the 89-year-old said at a rare press conference in response to a question about what he would do if he lost.


Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv/hdw/th
Date : 30 Jul 2013 16:47
 
What a disgrace to humanity and Africa in particular. We will know soon I guess.
 
Zimbabwe heads to polls in tense presidential vote

Crisis-weary Zimbabweans were voting Wednesday in a fiercely contested election dominated by veteran President Robert Mugabe's bid to extend his 33-year rule and suspicions of vote rigging.

The 89-year-old firebrand, Africa's oldest leader, is running for office for the seventh and perhaps final time, after a series of violent crackdowns, economic crises, and suspect elections.

But on the eve of the vote, Mugabe vowed to step down if he lost and claimed the army -- long the bulwark of his rule -- would also respect a victory for Morgan Tsvangirai, his perennial rival and reluctant partner in an uneasy coalition for the past four years.

"If you lose you must surrender," the 89-year-old said, insisting: "We have done no cheating."

The United States however, voiced concern about the way the vote would be run and Tsvangirai, who was forced out of the race in 2008 after 200 of his supporters were killed, told CNN he took Mugabe's promise "with a pinch of salt".

Voters, some wrapped in blankets on a cold winter morning, started queuing at least four hours before polling stations opened and voting appeared to be brisk in many urban areas, which have traditionally recorded strong support for Tsvangirai.

"I am happy to have cast my vote. I just want an end to the problems in our country," said 66-year-old Ellen Zhakata as she voted in a Harare township.

"All my children are outside the country because of the economic troubles here. I am so lonely. How I wish they could be working here."

Millions of Zimbabweans were forced to migrate to find work elsewhere after an economic crisis which was exacerbated by the violence-marred 2008 elections.

While this year's campaign has seen little of the bloodshed of 2008, Tsvangirai, a 61-year-old former trade union leader, has raised alarm bells about fraud.

His Movement for Democratic Change on Tuesday handed what it claimed was documentary evidence of plans to rig the election to observers from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

The dossier, which an SADC observer said raised serious questions, listed examples of duplicate or questionable voters gleaned from an initial examination of the electoral roll.

In June, the non-governmental Research and Advocacy Unit said after examining an incomplete roll that it included a million dead voters or emigres, as well as over 100,000 people who were more than 100 years old.

"We have seen a lot of duplicate names in the roll, where you see somebody is registered twice, same date of birth, same physical address but with a slight difference in their ID number," junior minister Jameson Timba told AFP.

At the US State Department, spokeswoman Jen Psaki expressed Washington's doubts about the way the vote would be run.

"We do remain concerned about the lack of transparency in electoral preparations by continued partisan behaviour, by state security institutions, and by the technical and logistical issues hampering the administration of a credible and transparent election," she said.

The Zimbabwe Electoral Commission was ordered Tuesday to fully publish the roll by 1000 GMT Wednesday, leaving little time to correct problems.

Commission chief Rita Makarau said the delayed access to the roll had affected all parties equally.

"It has not affected one political party, so in a way it remains unfair to all political players," she said.

Some 6.4 million people, around half of the population, are eligible to vote.

A candidate needs 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off and both Mugabe and Tsvangirai appear confident.

Mugabe has focused his campaign on bashing homosexuals and on promises to widen the redistribution of wealth to poor black Zimbabweans.

Amid recovery from an economic crisis that saw mass unemployment and galloping inflation, Mugabe loyalists insist their hero is "tried and tested".

Credible opinion polls are rare, but according to one survey by the US-based Williams firm in March-April, Mugabe could be in for a rough ride.

In a survey of 800 Zimbabweans, 61 percent said they had a favourable view of the MDC compared with 27 percent for Mugabe's ZANU-PF.

The poll showed Tsvangirai leading in seven of 10 provinces and that only 34 percent of those who voted for Mugabe in 2008 back him this time around.

Tsvangirai hopes his plans to lure back foreign investors, create a million jobs in five years, and improve public services will deliver a long-awaited victory.

Polling stations close at 1700 GMT and final results are expected within five days.


Source : Sapa-AFP /pk/aa/jk
Date : 31 Jul 2013 09:10
 
Tsangvirai Confident

Casting his ballot Wednesday, Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai expressed confidence he will win an historic and overwhelming victory against his veteran rival President Robert Mugabe.

Voting in Harare's middle class suburb of Mt. Pleasant Tsvangirai predicted his party would win "quite resoundingly, I must say".

"This is a very historic moment for all of us," he added.

Tsvangirai is up against the 89-year-old Mugabe, Africa's oldest leader, who is running for election for the seventh and perhaps final time after a series of violent crackdowns, economic crises and suspect elections.

So far the election has seen little of the violence that plagued previous polls and forced Tsvangirai out of the race in 2008.

But the election has been overshadowed by suspicions of vote rigging, particularly double registration of some voters on the long-delayed voter roll.

Tsvangirai described casting his ballot as an emotional moment "after all the conflict, the stalemate, the suspicion, the hostility."

There is a sense that "finally Zimbabwe will be able to move on again".


Source : Sapa-AFP /pk/hdw/th
Date : 31 Jul 2013 11:46
 
Garyvdh said:
Casting his ballot Wednesday, Zimbabwe's Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai expressed confidence he will win an historic and overwhelming victory against his veteran rival President Robert Mugabe.
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Not to be a party pooper Morgan T, but Mad Bob F-Nut has rigged this election , like all the others. Sad but very true... shame that Bob-F-Nut is still killing Zim...
 
Garyvdh said:
Veteran Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe said Tuesday he would step down from 33 years in power if he lost Wednesday's knife-edge election.

"If you lose you must surrender," the 89-year-old said at a rare press conference in response to a question about what he would do if he lost.


Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv/hdw/th
Date : 30 Jul 2013 16:47
Click to expand...

Maybe he was referring to Morgan.
 
Mugabe votes for Mugabe

The elections are a chance for Zimbabweans "to choose what is free and fair", President Robert Mugabe said after casting his ballot Wednesday.

"It's an opportunity for the nation to demonstrate their own wishes as to what must be done and that, of course, means choosing the party they think can fulfil their wishes. In other words, give them a better life," he said, before going into the polling station.

"I am voting for myself," he added.

When asked about a possible new term, he said: "I've got lots of things to do - repair our industries, which have collapsed; there's much work to be done in the mining sector."


Source : Sapa-dpa /sdv/hdw/jk
Date : 31 Jul 2013 13:06
 
Garyvdh said:
The elections are a chance for Zimbabweans "to choose what is free and fair", President Robert Mugabe said after casting his ballot Wednesday.

"It's an opportunity for the nation to demonstrate their own wishes as to what must be done and that, of course, means choosing the party they think can fulfil their wishes. In other words, give them a better life," he said, before going into the polling station.

"I am voting for myself," he added.

When asked about a possible new term, he said: "I've got lots of things to do - repair our industries, which have collapsed; there's much work to be done in the mining sector."


Source : Sapa-dpa /sdv/hdw/jk
Date : 31 Jul 2013 13:06
Click to expand...

More pillaging to do
 
Zimbabwe: Large Turnout For Crucial Election

In an election that poses one of the biggest threats to President Robert Mugabe's 33-year grip on power, Zimbabweans flocked to polling stations Wednesday to determine the future course of this former British colony even as suspicions are high that vote-counting could be rigged.

Lines of voters snaked around a school in Harare, where polling booths opened just after the scheduled time of 7 a.m. (0500GMT) Wednesday. Many were dressed in heavy coats, scarves and woolen headgear to ward off the winter chill. Some had flasks of hot drinks.

"It is moving slowly, but I am here for as long as it takes. We have got to get this done," said voter Isaac Rufaro, who joined the line before dawn.

Mugabe has denied allegations of vote-rigging and dismissed concerns about the credibility of the polls. Even so, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Washington is troubled by "the lack of transparency in electoral preparations, by the continued partisan behavior of state security institutions and by the technical and logistical issues hampering the administration of a credible and transparent election."

The contest pits Mugabe, 89, against Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, 61, the former opposition leader who teamed up with the president's party in an uneasy coalition. The power-sharing deal was forged by regional leaders after Zimbabwe's last disputed and violent election in 2008.

Mugabe has promised that if he loses he will hand power over to Tsvangirai. However, Tsvangirai's party has alleged that Mugabe supporters have engaged in vote-rigging in a desperate attempt to stay in power.

The official state election body has admitted that administrative, logistical and funding problems have hindered voting arrangements, but said they had been resolved and voting was ready to go ahead at more than 9,000 polling stations across the country.

There are 6.4 million voters in the nation, which is slightly larger than Germany. Zimbabwe has 12.9 million people.

Voting officials at one suburban Harare shopping center said their line of at least 1,000 people was expected to move more quickly as staff became more proficient in finding names on pages and pages of lists of voters, and verifying identity documents.

Previous elections in 2002 and 2008 were marred by allegations of vote rigging and political violence. Rights groups say there has been little overt violence this time around but noted deep concerns remain over shambolic voters' lists, the role of Mugabe's loyalist police and military in the voting process and bias in the dominant state media and the sole national broadcaster controlled by Mugabe loyalists.

The International Crisis Group, a research organization, said it fears a return to "a protracted political crisis, and possibly extensive violence" if the Zimbabwe poll is inconclusive and disputed, and especially if election observers of the regional Southern African Development Community, or SADC, and the continent-wide African Union fail to identify flaws in the hastily arranged elections.

Mugabe has refused to allow Western observer missions, including one from the Jimmy Carter Center, to monitor voting but main Western embassies in Zimbabwe have been permitted to deploy a limited number of Harare-based diplomats to key voting districts.

Zimbabwe's shaky coalition government is effectively dissolved Wednesday.

Both Mugabe and Tsvangirai have predicted outright victory for their parties that would avoid the formation of another coalition.

Voting is scheduled to close at 7 p.m. (1700GMT) but may be extended to a second day Thursday, according to election officials. The


Source : Sapa-AP /sdv/tk/th
Date : 31 Jul 2013 13:52

Photos at the Link....
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/world/article/Zimbabwe-Large-turnout-for-crucial-election-4697164.php
 
Regrets, Relief for Outgoing Zim Govt

Whatever the result of Zimbabwe's election Wednesday one thing is for sure: four years of uneasy power-sharing between President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai will end.

As Zimbabweans streamed to the polls, the unity government partners sighed with relief at the close of their "painful", "disappointing" union.

The forced marriage was arranged by the international community to avoid further violence in the wake of suspect and blood-soaked 2008 elections.

Tsvangirai won the first round, but was forced to drop out of the second round amid the killing of 200 of his supporters.

He then became prime minister as a reluctant partner in the unity government alongside Mugabe, the former guerrilla who has ruled since independence from Britain.

While the power-sharing deal which took effect in 2009 prevented full-scale conflict, critics today deplore its failure to achieve much-needed democratic reforms and kickstart the economy.

"It has been a major disappointment," Rugare Gumbo, spokesman for Mugabe's ZANU-PF party, told AFP.

But communications minister Nelson Chamisa, spokesman for Tzvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), said the government had achieved some victories.

"It has been difficult, difficult, painful but useful for the people of Zimbabwe. People's lives have improved," he said. "We are excited that we are coming out of the blast furnace."

The arrangement was aimed at creating a "genuine, viable, permanent, sustainable" solution to the crisis.

But in its early days, Mugabe could not hide his discomfort.

"I feel awkward in a thing like that, absolutely awkward," he told mediator President Jacob Zuma of South Africa at the time.

Ex-finance minister Simba Makoni, who was not part of the unity deal, branded the Mugabe-Tsvangirai government "pathetic" and "dismal".

And analysts said the deal had failed to set a democratic framework for fresh elections.

Days before Wednesday vote, the country was "still grappling with issues of reforms, the timing of elections, issues of sporadic violence and intimidation," said Trevor Maisiri, a researcher with the International Crisis Group.

"It has not fully served its primary purpose because the idea was to create a transitional mechanism that would lead to a credible election," he said.

Initially the unity government was to last just two years but it had to be extended as delays plagued the formulation of a new constitution that would lay the basis for credible polls this time around.

The MDC "regrets, definitely that quite a number of reforms did not move as we had wanted," said Chamisa, highlighting a lack of revisions of the media and security sector.

Civic rights coalition Sokwanele, which kept an eye on the government's performance, traced 22,482 violations of the agreement -- 90 percent by ZANU-PF.

The rivals still strongly disagree on the economy, and bitterly blame each other for Zimbabwe's slow recovery.

Unemployment still hovers on the wrong side of 50 percent while millions of people are still economic refugees in neighbouring countries.

Once a net food exporter known as Africa's breadbasket, Zimbabwe's reformed agricultural sector is yet to produce enough to feed the country.

"There were many programmes that we were going to carry out, but our colleagues acted like they were an opposition party instead of carrying themselves as part of the government," the ZANU-PF's Gumbo claimed.

The MDC said it opposed "ill-conceived" black economic empowerment schemes that forced foreign companies to cede a majority of their shares, saying it drove away investors.

But some say the power-sharing agreement was not all bad.

The government rescued the moribund economy by abandoning the Zimbabwean dollar, ending rampant inflation that peaked at 231 million percent.

Politicians who previously had not seen eye-to-eye suddenly were forced to run the country together, which may explain the peaceful run-up to Wednesday's polls.

Just being able to talk to each other in parliament or in cabinet "has really been helpful," said Gumbo.

The coalition "brought about some sanity, peace and stability. We are not fighting as we used to. Even campaigning is being done in a peaceful, orderly manner," he said.

Chamisa also said the unity government was a healthy exercise.

"The past four years showed that another Zimbabwe is possible. A Zimbabwe where we can realise, appreciate and celebrate the cross-pollination of ideas," he said.


Source : Sapa-AFP /sdv/hdw/clh
Date : 31 Jul 2013 14:52
 
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